Chapter 2

The third Saturday saw me sitting in my usual place at Smokey Joe's bar. Almost healed from the last beating, I hoped I would have better luck this time. I heard Randy talking before I saw them. They took the same table as before. Joe whispered, good luck, buddy. I walked to their table just like before. As I got there, Karen looked up and said oh no, not again. Randy turned and said you have got to be kidding me. He was having trouble getting out of his chair again.

"Karen we need to talk. I thought you loved me and you aren't giving me a fair chance here. Please let me explain."

"There's no need to talk, I saw the pictures. Pictures of you with two women. I hope you had fun, because it cost you our marriage. Go away and leave me alone."

By this time Randy was standing and started toward me. He was saying something about ripping out my throat so I couldn't talk. I didn't quite catch it all.

I held up my hands to stop him and said, "Randy give me one minute and then you can kick my ass again. Guys, I'm not stopping. Don't care how many times Randy beats the hell out of me, I'm not stopping. I will keep coming back Karen until you talk to me. If you have me arrested, I will get out of jail sometime and I will be back again. If you put me in the hospital, when I heal I will be back"

Randy looked over to Karen; she shook her head. "She still doesn't want to talk to you Jack. You had better leave before you get hurt again."

"Please Karen, just ten minutes," I pleaded. She didn't even look at me. I turned back to Randy and said, "Okay, come get some big guy."

I ducked under his first punch and hit him in the throat with a good shot. He grabbed his neck and sort of staggered. Hey, I got a chance here, I thought to myself. Yeah right. His second punch missed my head but hit my shoulder and knocked me down. Then he grabbed me with those big hands. He walked me to the door, hit me on the side of the head, and threw me out of Joe's. I made it to my truck before I passed out.

Okay, that brings us up to date as I sit here. It has been two weeks since the last confrontation. Karen and Randy have come in and sat at their usual table. I'm beginning to think Karen is wavering about not talking to me. Why else would she and Randy keep coming to Smokey Joe's? There are other BBQ joints around. She knows how stubborn I can be and that I will keep coming back.

Karen's eyes widen as I walk up to the table. Randy was sitting in a chair without arms and had no trouble standing up this time. He looks at me with a little smile on his face. I just stare at Karen.

Before I can speak Randy says, "You are a persistent little shit, aren't you?"

"Randy I told you I would keep coming back. The only way to stop me is to hurt me so bad I never recover or kill me. Your choice big guy or Karen you could agree to talk to me for ten minutes."

"She still doesn't want to talk to you, Jack," Randy told me. "Just give it up before I have to really hurt you, please."

I think Randy was coming over to my side or at least had gained some respect for my stubborn streak.

"Randy, I have taken it easy on you up to now. I know you love your sister and are just protecting her. However, I am getting the hell beat out of me here and I will have to start defending myself. I'm not saying I can stop you, big guy, but I am saying you are going to hurt more than you have before. Please just stay out of it."

"Jack, your mouth is writing checks you body can't cash. Leave or this is going to get serious."

Oh well, I tried. "Take your best shot, big guy," I told Randy.

The first time Randy and I danced, I hadn't really expected him to hit me. The second time, I thought that my punch might make him realize, that I wasn't going to go easy. That punch did not have the desired effect as he kicked my ass anyway. This time, I had to do what I could to get him to back off. I couldn't take many more beatings.

In both of our previous encounters, I had just stood there as Randy advanced on me. Not this time, I started to move around to his left. He sort of turned with me but he kept getting his feet tangled up. Finally he roared, I mean he actually roared like a lion or something, and charged me.

I let him come to me and as he did I ducked under his outstretched arms and stepped to one side. When I got beside him, I kicked the side of his leg right at the knee. He went down on his stomach. He landed hard. (I had learned a few things at the bar where I worked while in school.) I was one of three bouncers. I watch the veterans and learned.

From that point on, it was just a world of pain. Randy got up and started for me again, he was moving slower but he wasn't stopping. I tried my best Mohammad Ali impression, you know "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", but I had neither the speed nor the talent to make it work. Oh I was stinging like a bee but I floated like a drunken elephant. I don't know if I was hurting him but I knew he was really hurting me. Finally winded, tired and bleeding, we both paused for a moment. That's when Karen started yelling at us.

"Stop, oh please stop. You are going to kill each other. Stop this now," she demanded.

"All I want is ten minutes Karen. Randy can sit in on our talk, if you want. TEN MINUTES KAREN. Talk to me, or we can do this all over again."

She looked at me and then at Randy. Randy just shrugged as if to say, I'm good. Karen said, "Okay, ten minutes and then you'll leave?"

"Yeah, ten minutes and then I'll leave. No questions while I'm talking though. I need the full ten minutes. I will answer any questions after I'm done. Okay?"

I went to the bar and got two bar towels and some ice from Joe to make ice packs with. I put one on Randy's knee and used the other on my face.

I sat down across from Karen and she said, "Go ahead."

"Karen, you say you have pictures to prove that I cheated on you. Well, I have a witness to prove those pictures were faked."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"Remember, no questions until I'm done," I reminded her. "Jerry is my witness." I informed her of what Jerry said about the night at the bachelor party. "Call him, if you like. Believe me; Jerry's story about that night has answered a lot of questions for me."

I continued to talk until my time was almost up. "That's it, I have told you everything," I said. "Now I will answer any questions you may have."

"Why would Chuck pull such a dirty trick on us? It doesn't make any sense."

"Remember what Jerry told me? Chuck believes you two would still be together if I had backed up his story the night you broke up with him. I don't know if he just wants you for himself or revenge on me, maybe both. Also, who brought all the so called proof to your attention?

"Chuck called and brought the pictures and stuff to my place at 11:00 the night of the party."

"Why would Chuck want to tell you about the party so late at night? He didn't want me to have a chance to explain what went on to you."

What questions did Jerry's tale answer for you? What didn't you know before?"

"Well, I decided to leave when the strippers came in. I knew you would not appreciate me staying. I never made it to the door; all of a sudden I was so drunk I couldn't walk. So how did I get so drunk on just three beers and I didn't even finish the third one? What happened to my underwear and shirt? I could understand the underwear missing, but not the shirt. Jerry's story also explained how you found out about the party so quickly. The most important question I asked myself was how could I cheat on you? I don't believe I could ever get that drunk."

Karen was sitting, watching and listening to me. She had tears in her eyes. I heard her say I don't know, I just don't know, and my heart sank. She didn't believe me. It was time for me to leave. I had my ten minutes and more, it was all I could do.

I reached across the table and took Karen's hand. Randy sat up and leaned forward. I held up my other hand to him to stop him. I slipped the engagement ring back on her finger.

"Take me at my word or take it off Karen. I have just one more thing to say. I HAVE NEVER LIED TO YOU. I DON'T LIE. You know that. I explained why to you before, and it's one of the reasons you fell in love with me. I AM NOT LYING NOW. You should have talked to me in person before running off. Call Jerry if you have to." I paused trying to think of anything else that should be said; decided I had said it all.

"I'm done, Karen. There is nothing left to say and I can't take anymore beatings. I need to go to the ER now; I think my nose is broken. Good bye Karen, I love you."

With that I got up and left. My cell phone began to ring after I had driven about thirty miles. It was Karen, I shut the phone off. There had been enough phone calls and letters. If she wants to talk she knows where I live. I know I had gone through all this to talk to her so why wouldn't I take her call. In my mind she should have accepted my story when I told her, not several minutes later. I know stupid pride, but I deserve instant gratification; I had earned it the hard way. I drove back to my home, put more ice on my face and collapsed into bed.

The next morning, after my ears quit ringing and the Advil kicked in, I sat and thought about my ten minutes. Could I have said anything else or more. Didn't think so, I just told the truth without embellishment; that's all I can do. I went to the ER and had my nose checked out, it wasn't broken. They did want to keep me to work on the rest of my beat up body but I walked out.

I returned to my place, took a few more Advil, and napped for a couple of hours. It was 12:30 when I woke up and I was hungry. That's a good sign; maybe I won't die after all. I took a shower, being very careful with the bruised parts of my body and face. Getting dressed, I headed out to get some lunch and maybe some liquid pain killer. As I got to my door, someone knocked on it, hard. It was more a pounding than knocking. What the hell? I opened the door to find Randy standing there. He didn't look in the best of moods. I took a step back and looked at him for a short time.

"What now Randy," I asked? "Maybe you think you didn't do enough damage to me yesterday; after all I am still walking. What the hell do you want?"

"Could I talk to you for a minute, please? Karen is going crazy and I can't calm her down. I thought that together we might get her to settle down."

"I must have rattled you brain yesterday if you think she wants me around. You heard her; she wants me to leave her alone. Karen hasn't tried to contact me or make any response to my explanation; it's obvious she didn't believe me. So tell me again, why should I help in calming her down?"

"After you left the bar, she was really upset. When you wouldn't answer your phone, she really freaked out," Randy told me. "I tried to get her to mellow out, but she was really hurting. She said that she should have known you wouldn't cheat on her, especially with those two lowlifes. My sis berated herself for not confronting you in person; she said she should have never run away. The whole time she was crying so hard, I almost couldn't understand what she was saying. I had to take her home and put her to bed."

"Randy I did everything possible to get that face to face time with her. You know I did. The phone calls to your house and your job, the letters that I just kept resending after you guys returned them or refused to accept delivery, and the one you enjoyed the most, the beatings at Smokey Joe's. Unless you want to dance some more, get the hell away from me, or as Karen said LEAVE ME ALONE. I have had enough of you two."

"Who are you trying to kid, Jack?" You're hurting as bad as she is."

"Maybe, but she is the one who..."

"Does it really make any difference? She was wrong and made a mistake. That didn't stop you from loving her. If you didn't love her, you wouldn't have tangled with me. Not just once, but three times. Let me tell you something else. I could have really hurt you, but the second time we saw you at Joe's, Karen told me to take it easy. Just so you know I did take it easy on you. She didn't want you to be hurt too badly. She loves you too. That's why she is freaking out right now."